Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Business: The New Casual

While looking at some past and present clothing trends -and the upcoming ones for Spring 2013 -I see that casual wear has been redefined. Maybe it's young people's clothing maturing or if stores and designers are pushing the trend, but it's becoming obvious that the tight graphic tee shirts and ripped jeans are no longer what defines cool but causal". When I traveled to Europe two years ago, one of the first things I noticed was how to tell a tourist from a local. If they were wearing shorts with a word across the bottom, tight tee shirts, or ripped jeans, they were most definitely an American. To prevent such a mix up -because not many people who are tourists want to be noted as being a tourist -I dressed how I would for special occasions back home: pretty blouses, flowy tank tops, light weight cardigans, and dark denim.

As is always the case, the trends of Europe eventually trickle down to the department stores of the US, and for this fall, it's becoming obvious that the put together look is what is in. The set and clothing above -all from InDressMe -resembles what someone might wear to a job interview. The clean cut blazer, the embellished ankle booties, and the large briefcase satchel all seem like the equation of woman trying to balance the seemingly impossible in the workplace: trendy - trashy + head turner - disapproving looks from someone your mother's age.

This raises a question: if casual is being redefined, does that mean that business casual will also be affected? Will the looks that are worn in offices ever resemble that of what is worn on the streets, or even what's trending in the magazines? For now, maybe not. But there's still time. After all, it took six months for the trends I bought in France to come to the states.